Turbine-generator ventilation



Sept. 18, 1956 R. A. BAUDRY TURBINE-GENERATOR VENTILATION 2 Sheets-Sheet I Filed Sept. 2, 1953 BmJJRA. m. 8 2

R. A. BAUDRY TURB INE-GENERATOR VENTILATION Sept. 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1953 Fig. 8

INVENTOR Rene'ABoudry WITNESSES:

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nited States Patenti() 2,763,794 TURBINE-GENERATOR vENTrLATloN Ren A. Baudry, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application September 28, 1951, Serial No. 248,853. Divided and this application September 2, 1953, Serial No. 378,110

15 Claims. (Cl. 310-55) My invention relates to improvements in the method and means for Ventilating a turbine generator or other large dynamoelectric machine, whereby the currents which may be carried bythe stator and rotor windings of such machines may be doubled or tripled, or more, with respect to the current-ratings which have previously been possible. There are various kinds of losses in large dynamoelectric machines, but the principal losses, constituting the bottleneck which has determined the machine rating, particularly in machines of the turbine-generator type, have been the copper losses, commonly referred to as the 12R losses. These copper losses are only a very small percentage of the rating of the entire machine, but the rating of the entire machine has been limited by the amount of losses (or heating) which could be removed by any available cooling system at the maximum permissible operatnig temperatures of the stator and rotor copper.

This application is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No. 109,000, filed August 12, 1949.

During the course of the past twenty years hydrogen has come to replace air as the atmosphere surrounding the windings within the casings of high-power alternatingcurrent generators, principally because the much lower density of hydrogen greatly reduced windage losses, The most wi-dely prevalent practice was to operate with a hydrogen pressure of around half a pound above the surrounding atmosphere, though in recent years there has been some discussion, and testing, of operation of conventional generators at hydrogen pressures up to several atmospheres. It was found, however, that while current rating of a given generator rose at first as hydrogen pressures were increased, the rate of this increase continually declined toward `a kind of saturation, and the general conclusion was that such disadvantages as increased hydrogen leakage and increased cost of generator housings which accompanied higher pressure operation made it uneconomical to consider operation at pressures above 30 pounds per square inch gauge.

These conclusions were doubtless valid for the conventional generators being tested; but under the principles of my invention the gradual decline in the rating-increase attainable by raising hydrogen-pressure is obviated, and the only practical limits to generator-rating increase through increased hydrogen-cooling will be those set by practical economic considerations.

The amount of heat which can be removed in unit time from a given Ventilating duct operating at a safe temperature -by a given gas flowing through it can be shown to vary, for practical purposes, in accordance with the prod` uct of the gas pressure by its linear velocity of flow. The rate of heat dissipation can therefore be increased by increasing either gas pressure or gas velocity, or both; and the increase of either factor of the above product is, broadly, within the contemplation of my invention. However, the application of these principles to commerciallysalable high power turbo-generators .involves certain obstacles which have to be overcome.

Practical matters of commercial design such as prime- ICC mover speed and physical constants of rotor forgings limit the rotor (and hence the air-gap) diameter, and also the rotor length, each to a certain fixed maximum value. This in turn limits ythe area or" magnet iron which can economically vbe cut away to form the slots which enclose the windings, and so makes it desirable to keep each slot cross-section down as close as practicable to the minimum area required for the windings it is `to enclose. In short, slot-area is at a premium.

In most conventional hydrogen-cooled generators of the prior art the hydrogen within the generator housing has been circulated by fan-blades, mounted near the periphery of the rotor, through cooling ducts in the magnetiron of the rotor and stator. As a result, outow of 12R heat from the winding-copper to the hydrogen had to traverse paths from the copper through the insulation of the windings to the slot-wall, and thence through the iron to the hydrogen stream. It Was this heat-flow through insulation and iron which was largely responsible for the failure, noted in the discussions and tests mentioned above, of the generator-rating to increase uniformly'as hydrogen pressure was raised.

I remove this limitation to effective hydrogen-cooling by causing the hydrogen to fiow through ducts located inside the principal winding-insulation and running along each winding-conductor, so that paths are provided for heat-How from conductor-copper to hydrogen in which practically no thermal resistance is interposed. The slots must thus enclose within their cross-section the windingcopper, the ducts and the winding-insulation. The insulation being fixed by design-constants, this means that the space for the ducts must be carved out of either winding-copper or magnet-iron. Since areas of winding-copper and magnet-iron are both at a premium the duct-area must be kept down. Itis possible to show that this relationship fixes an optimum duct-area.

The ducts in my arrangement thus parallel the winding` copper in the axial slots of the stator and rotor, as the drawings herein show; and the duct length is thus xed, as a practical matter, by the axial length of the rotor (or stator); and this length is itself fixed, as is pointed out above, by constants of mechanical design. Thus both the area and length of each duct are determined within narrow limits.

The linear velocity with which a given gas will flow through a duct of fixed length and area is fixed,l according to well-known laws, by the pressure-gradient between the termini of the duct. It has become standard practice of many years standing to drive the cooling-gas in generators by the pressure-gradient produced by a single stage of fan-blades mounted near the periphery of the rotor. The pressure differential or gradient produced by such a single stage of fan-blades has, according to a Well-established formula, a value of not over V2 H 0.5 2g where V is the linear velocity with which the blades are moving, g is the acceleration of gravity, and H is the pressure-gradient expressed as head, or height ot a stationary column of the gas which would have a static pressure of the same value at its base. Since the primemover speed and rotor diameter are lixed at definite maximum values for standard high-power turboalternators, the value of the peripheral speed of the rotor, which is the same as V, cannot exceed about 670 feet per second, The value of H in the foregoing formula is xed at a maximum, therefore, of 3500 feet. For a generator using hydrogen-cooling at l atmosphere absolute pressure this means a maximum pressure-gradient of 0.12 pound per square inch; and for hydrogen at P atmospheres a pressure-gradient of 0.12P pound per square inch.

It ollowsfromthe,aboyegthat the pressure heads circulating hydrogen in prior-art generators I coirldmnotnhave been greater than the values just given; and it also follows that unless a pump of some form other than the singletorgfanbladeefmw-conventional..oriaurbo-alterusedjo riye -cozolinggvgasthrough.the-coolingmproposinalhe linearvelooity .of the'geshrough thesqducts ofniixed area.- alld length is limited to ,a Kdenite maximum value by; the maximum .pressure-heads which the aboveformulas;show. But. this linearvelocity. is -one A.Off .the-.twoiactors in .the-productwhich, as already pointed lout, -.must..be lincreased ,to increase generator-ratings.

However, the other factor, gas-pressureLmays'till be'increased to zincrease theI rating; and it4 is this .expedient to Whichl -resort toLincrease. rating lin .generatorswhich employ the conventionalsingle stage V'fan-blades mounted -on'jthe rotor toldriye; cooling-.gasthrough .the cooling- ,ducts. .".Gf course. 4the cost of'building -generatorhousings strong enoughafor the increased gas-pressures and the .incre'asel of`windagelosses ,are economic limitationson fthe-amount of such increase to.` be sought for.

i :Most large-turbo-alternators have-stator-windings op- 4.-erating .at -5000 volts Vor-more, by far-the greater-'number operating, as--rny above mentioned applicationSerial No. --l09,999-states,-at10,000 volts or above,'fwhile their rotor (field) windings operate atlow-voltage YV'lhislresults in gdiiiculty-in insulating the windings :from-their-enclosing slots lin -gthe'case .of the-stator-'windings in cases-where -cooling ducts-are -to be located inside the insulation. 'Nosuchdilculty arose in the'case of-rotorwindings for which `s uch ductshave been proposed.

V*The application of Graham L. Moses, Serial `No. 110,010, iiled'August 1-2, 1949, shows one way of insulating winding conductors having cooling-ducts, such as I propose using,'by building upy the insulation from separate plates and channels. Such a structure has gaps at theljoints and, were air or hydrogen at around atmoslphericg pressure in the environment of the windings, electrical discharges to the slot-Walls would rapidlynruin the insulation. However, I nd that theseele'ctric discharges disappear if hydrogen at pressures of .5.0 pounds orimore per ,square vinch. gauge is 'used for Ycooling 4suchstator undiags- .{Thelimtetion of .the use ofihishorlinoar .velocities as' .thomeans of .securing .increased .generator-ratings .thtoushhydrogon oooline'sl'as Ihavoljsadjdue to .the practice ofV employing theconventional single-stage of 4rotor-rnounted fan blades. Itis, however, within the Co .omplationof mvinvonfion to .employ other .forms ofrlllmo 'These .mov take the form, for ,eaamplepf employing a .plurality of Stages of .ooootns .fari-.blades on rotorwandfstator or Vot' va separately-poweredblower, fan' or pump of known. type iutoroalfatod inv thohvdrogoo system 1 0 `give Sufcient pressure-gradient toinipart 'any desiredvelocity tothe hydrogen through *the ducts. With such an arrangement, thehydrogen.coolingetect,may be increased by raising the velocity factor,inthepressllrevelocity product while keeping the pressure at around one atmosphere, or by increasingbpth pressure and pressuregradient to values abovethose which, as above explained, were .characteristic .of the .prior .art

.An object ,of my invention, thereforeis .to -provideva high-voltage dynamoelectric machine, -havingthe abovedescribed cooling systems whereby twoor Athree-fold increases, or better, may be made in theratings-of1both the stator and rotor membersjof .the machine.

IAnother object ofmy invention is tofprovide -means for forcing the coolant to flow through the-cooling-ducts at-substantially higher velocities than has been the practice in the prior art.

Further objects of my invention relate to details of the cooling duct construction, particularly thecoolingfduct construction which is necessary' for. the high-voltage stator members -of such machines.

With the'foregoing and other objects in view, my in- `rention consists in the circuits, systems, combinations, structures, parts, and methods of operation and assembly, hereinafter described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a very schematic longitudinal section or' a trie more than the top' left-hand quarter of a turbine generator, VShowing an .eaemplarygtorm of f embodiment of my present invention in a form in which high-pressure hydrogen is used-forboth -thefstator and the' V-rotonvvith the samehydrogen pressures prevailing4 throughout the machine;

"FigfZ is ,a ,verydiagrammatia reduced-scale, central Ycross-sectionV through the A`machine on a; section plane indicated by the line II-Il in Fig. l, showing `the general idea of the pathofvthen hydrogen through the coolers;

Fig. 3 is a somewhat schematic, developed, reducedscale plan view of a portion of the outer periphery of .themachina. such as Iwouldl be obtained by l removing the outer shell'ifrom themachine offFig. 1 and looking-down radially; at each -point of 1 the-stator -member-y as far. around asfthe circumferential extenticovered .byfFig. 3,-that is, around thetop portion of themachine;

FigyA-.is a-cross-sectional-detail of -two ofthe stator -slots ,en -.atsection. plane such Aa's that indicated at lV-llV mariah tFig..:4A.isa cross-sectional detail of-two of the-stator ,slots onithesectionalplane=similar to that 4indicated at IV-. -IV-in Fig. llin a *modification ofmy invention in which the oslot insulationv between-the current-carrying conductorscandthezslot `walls isbuilt up from separate plates andchannels -of insulating material instead of lbeing-molded-or otherwise -formed'into a continuous sheath;

'cF-ig.' 5 nisan end viewy of the lapex `of -one-of-l the -stator coils in flig., l;

Fig. 6 is `a detailed longitudinal section on--a somewhat larger scale than-Fig. 1, through the center-of the lefthalnd-end-offoneofthestator slotsfon a section-plane such-as thatindicatedfbythe -line VI-Vl in Fig. 4;

Fig. 17-isV a diagrammatic end view of a different type `of.turbinegenerator-in which a cylindrical insulating memberis securedto the -air-gap bore of thestatorcore forv dividing the machine -housing linto V*separate outer. and inner l compartments for the stator and .rotor members, respectively/,sol that the cooling medium which is `used for `thestator-trim -b`e of va-diifererit materiaL or -at a different-pressure than that which is used for the rotor member;

FigJS-is asomewhat Tdiagrammatichorizontal sectional view-enla lar-ger scale, -showing V'somewhat more than the top left-handquarter Vof the-machine `shown in Fig. 7, the section plane being indicatedV at .VIII-"JIU, in Fig. 7;

#Fig 9isa-r`edu`ced'scale and-somewhat diagrammatic vertical sectional-view ofthe bottomhalf of the complete length of the machine, as :seen on asection plane indicated by the lineIX-IX lin-Fig. 7; and

Figf-lO-.is a detail of a multistage Ifan which may replace the singlestageifan of Figi for certain purposes.

'In Vthe formfof myvinvention eshown in Figs. 1 to.6, alargepolyphase turbine generator is shown, comprising .a stator member ,1 and -a rotor member f2 enclosed in a gas-tight outer frame'lhousing'. The rotor is shown as being. mounted. on aQshaftrdwhich-extends out through thehousing 3-,in.agas-tightjournal-bearing joint which may be -regarded;asl being symbolically indicated at v.5. The previously-used glandsealsfS which have previously been developedfor preventing excessive. leak-.age -ot'i hydrogen ,at the place Where .the shaft :passes through the housing are capableewith; ,littlefadaptation lof .withstanding .the high hydrogenv pressures'whoh I-.may use, sorbet-.there is no real -diiculty here. 'I have lcontented myself ,in Fig. 1 with merely. .a :diagrammatic showing lof a; housing 3 '.vvhich;l is, understood to .hesnbstantiallygastight The stator member l-comprisesia statorcore'which is composed of a stack of annular magnetizable punchings or laminations, which have been diagrammatically illustrated as being divided into two stacks of laminations, divided by a wide annular ventilating space 7 in the middle of the machine between said two stacks, although in actual construction, this central annular vent space 7 may be filled with a number of axially spaced laminations so as to give the equivalent of a wide annular vent space having an axial width or length of perhaps two inches or whatever other spacing may be required. This single central annular vent space 7 is used in preference to the large number of small (or axially thin) radial Ventilating spaces which are used in the common stator core structures in previous modern designs of turbine generators.

The stator core 6 is provided with conductor-receiving slots 8 for receiving the coil sides 9 of a high-voltage primary winding 10 made of preformed coils. It will be noted that the major portions of the primary coil sides 9 are straight lat-sided portions, lying in the stator slots 8. A short distance beyond each end ofthe stator coil a bend 11 is made, joining each straight coil side 9 with a substantially straight ilatsided portion 12 of the end-turn portion 13 of the primary winding. The end of each straight end-turn portion 12 has another bend 14 which usually comprises the apex of a coil, joining the two halves of that coil together, although some of the bends 14 may lead to the machine terminals, as will be readily understood.

'i In Fig. l, I have shown the end turns 13 of the primary winding 10, which extend out axially and circumferen- .tially from each end of. the slot-lying coil sides 9, kept .at substantially the same radial distance from the shaft 4 as the coil sides 9 instead of extending out at an angle .away from the shaft, as in conventional previous struc- '.tures. As shown in Fig. 1, a cylindrical insulating coil- :supporting means 16 underlies the end turns 13 at each end of the stator core 6, and the end turns are held clamped down against this cylindrical insulating support 16 by means of suitable coil braces 17 which cooperate with the underlying cylindrical insulating support 16 to clamp the end turns 11 against displacement or bending as a result of stresses set up by short-circuit currents.

In accordance with the Fig. 1 embodiment of my invention, I make provision of special cooling duct means for cooling the primary turns 10 throughout substantially the entire length of the conductors including not only the slot-lying straight coil sides 9 but preferably also substantially all of the end turns 13 except the bends 14, which are the furthest away from the stator core 6. One way of doing this involves the use of coil sides in pairs 19 and 19 (Fig. 4), which are held spaced a short circumferential distance apart from each other, as by means of small vertical (or radial) spacers 20 (Fig. 6) disposed at suitable intervals along the length of the coil pairs 19 and 19', both in the coil side portions 9 which lie in the slots 8 and in the straight end turn portions 13. Upper and lower cooling ducts 21 and 21 may extend lengthwise along these coil pairs 19 and 19', being molded into a continuous joint-free jacket J of insulating material. This material may cover both the coil side portions 9, which lie withinv the stator slots 8, the bends 11 at the ends of the stator core 6, and the straight end-turn portions 12, up to but not including the bends 14.

The material J serves as slot insulation for the coils, and the conductor-receiving slots are large enough in cross-sectional area to provide room vfor the conductors, the slot insulation, and the cooling ducts 21 and 21.

Each of the coil sides 19, 19 comprises a plurality of layers of strap copper. These straps may be insulated from each other, if desired, by a winding of thin tape or other insulation which interposes no substantial thermal resistance to heat llow, its thermal resistance -being small relative to that of the main insulation of the copper of winding 10 from the slot walls which comprises the jacket J.

Like most turbine generators, the machine which I have illustrated is wound with a two-layer primary winding 10 so that the winding portions which lie in each stator slot 8 comprise two double-duct winding assemblies such as have already been described. lIn Fig. 5. I have shown the cooling-tluid-hydrogen in this instance-entering the top duct 21 of the top winding layer and the bottom duct 21 of the bottom winding layer at the duct -ends near the Ibends 14 at the apices of the respective coils. The bot-tom duct 21' of the top layer and the top duct 21 of the bottom layer are lblocked, at this point, as diagra'mmatically indicated at 24 and 25 in Figs. l and 6. The cooling uid thus enters through the open ducts and passes across the space between the two coil halves 19 and 19 into the ducts which are blocked at the ends 14, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 6. At the center of the machine, where the Aannular vent 7 is located, the two ducts -which were open at the bends 14 are blocked, as shown at 26 and '27 in Fig. l, so that the cooling gas leaves through the cooling ducts which were blocked at the bends 14, thus discharging into this annular vent space 7 and passing radially outward to the outer periphery of the stator core 6, as shown by the arrows in Fig. l.

The outer periphery of the stator punchings 6 is` supported by means of a plurality of heavy, axially spaced supporting rings 30, as shown in Fig. l. The -frame housing 3 has a cylindrical body portion, which in the design illustrated in Fig. 2 is somewhat eccentric with respect to the stator core 6, so that a larger spacing between the housing 3 and the core 6 is provided at the top of the machine than at the bottom. In the spacer-provided by this larger spacing, I have shown two axially extending coolers or heat exchangers 3-1 and 32, which are spaced annul'arly lfrom each other and which are joined at their bottoms or inner sides by means of a horizontal baffle 33 which causes the gas which ows radially outwardly from the annular stator vent space 7 to tlow in two streams iiowing circumferentially toward each other across the two axially extending coolers 31 and 32 into the axially extending space between these two coolers, through which the gas returns to the respective ends of the machine after having Kbeen cooled. v

Recirculation of the gas is maintained by means of a fan 35 (Fig. l), which is carried Iby the shaft 4 at each end of the rotor member 2. A suitable end baffle 36 is provided at each end of the machine for causing the gas which is cooled 'by passing through the coolers l31 and 32 to be delivered to the inta-ke sides of the fans 35, and to be thus `blown axially inwardly into the machine to maintain the circulation. The Vfan blades 35 in Fig. 1 are intended to be symbolical of a device for imparting velocity to the cooling gas through the cooling ducts lalready mentioned. The design ot such pressure-developing devices capable of imparting the velocity desired in any particular case is well within the skill of designing engineers, and the form arrived at may, of course, ybe substantially different from the fan blades 35 herein shown.

The rotor-member 2 is provided with a rotor core 40 (Figs. l and 2), which is also provided with conductorreceiving slots 41 in which are located the coil sides 42 of the tield winding 43 of the machine, which constitutes the rotor winding. This eld winding 43 is preferably made up ot' hollow or U-shaped conductors 44 similar to the conductors described in my Patent 2,221,567, granted November 12, 1940, except that I now use these hollow conductors with hydrogen under such increased pressure and/ or linear velocities in rthe ducts that a great deal more heat can be removed from the rotor conductors than formerly. Near the center of the rotor, about under the stator annular vent space 7, the slot wedges 45 of the rotor, as

7 Well es the Usb-ape@ roter onductors 44, are provided with radial openings or vents 46 through which the. hydrogen is expelled to the airgap, thence entering the airgap end of the annular stator vents 7 and joining with tbc stator-cooling hydrogen to be cooled by the coolers 31 and 32 and then recirculated by the fans 35 to the respective ends of the machine.

The stator core 6 and usually also the rotor core 40 are provided with suitable axially extending vent holes f or directly cooling the 'stator or rotor iron. Thus, in Fig. l, II have shown an axially extending stator vent 47 in the Iback part of the stator laminations, back of the conductor-receiving slots 8; and in Fig. 4, I haves'hown another axially extending stator vent 48, locatedvin one of the stator teeth to show 'how the stator teeth may be cooled. These iron-cooling or core-coling vents are or may be cnventional.

Instead of forming the insulation I between the coil sides 19, 19' and slots 8 9 as a molded joint-free jacket l, it may in accordance with Fig. 4A comprise stift, preformed U-shaped insulating channels which lie respeo tively over and under the two paired parts 19 and 19', including both the coil side portions 9 which lie within the stator slots 8, the Ibends 11 at the ends of the stator core 6, and the straight end-turn portions 12 up to but not including the bends 14.

In order to provide suitable insulation-surface creepage distances, the lateral sides of the U-shaped cooling ducts 21 and 21' and the lateral sides of the spaced conductor pairs 19 and 19 are ush and are covered by flat overlapping insulating barriers 23 which extend along the sides of the coil structures which are provided with the cooling ducts 21 and 21. The portions of the insulating channels 21 and 21 and lthe insulating barriers 23 which lie within the conductor-receiving slots 8 serve as slot 'insulation for the coils,l and the conductor-receiving slots are large enough in cross-sectional area to provide room forthe conductors, the slot insulation, and the cooling ducts 21 andl 21.

Insulation of the type shown in Fig. 4A, which comprises separate channels and plates with joints between them, is susceptible to electrical discharge through these joints where, as is usually the case in the stator windings of generators such as Ythose here being described, the winding conductors operate vat several thousand volts, e. g. ten thousand volts, above the sl'ot walls in which they are situated. This naturally creates an insulation diiculty, and the electrical discharges through the joints in the insulation causes deterioration of the latter, particularly in the case of windings of the prior artV where air was used as the Ventilating huid. Similar difficulties from electrical discharge are also met in the case of such jointed insulation even where the Ventilating medium is hydrogen at or only moderately above atmospheric pressure. However, by raising the hydrogen pressure, the voltage at which these electric discharges make ditliculty is greatly increased at-pressures of the order of fifty pounds per square inch in hydrogen and the use of hydrogen at or above that value eliminates a dflculty which would have prevented the use of cooling ducts between the current-carrying conductors and their principal insulation from the slot walls had the jointed type of insulation been attempted with hydrogen at'the pressures heretofore used in the ydynamo'electric machine-cooling art.

The structuresandl description of' Figs. l, 2 and 3 apply, whether the insulation is of the Fig. 4 form or the Fig. 4Aforxn.

lhe insulatingsupport 16 may have an overturned lip4 16A closely spaced from the periphery of' rotor 2, orv otherwise` provide means to` Vconstri'ct the passageffor gasfrom fan 35 axially through the` air-gap. between rotor l2; and theistator. Thisgreatlyassists cooling of thev rotor conductors by insuring that a sucient ypart of the cool,-y ing-gasffrorn fan 35,ows,into the, ducts-throughfvthe rotor.; windings.

In the form of my invention which is Shown in Figs. 7, 8 and ,9, the space within the frame housing 3 is subdivided by vmeans of a cylindrical insulating member 51 which is secured to the air-gap bore 52 of the stator core 6, and which extends axially beyond the stator core at each end of the machine. The ends of the cylindrical insulating member 51 are hermetically joined to some portion of the frame housing 3, as by means of annularvpartitions 53 which effect airtight joints between the cylindrical insulating member 51 and the frame housing 3. Thus, the cylindrical member 51 divides the space within the frame housing into separate outer and inner chambers V54 and 55. The stator core 6 and stator winding 10 are disposed within the outer chamber 54, while the rotor core 4l) and the rotor Winding 42 rotate within the inner charnber 55.`

ln the divided construction shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, it is necessary to provide dilerent recirculating paths for the coolants in the outer and inner chambers 54 and 55 because these two chambers are hermetically sealed from each other.

yThe inner chamber 55, as shown in Figs. 7 to 9, is preferably filled with hydrogen, and this rotor-cooling hydrogen is preferably circulated by means of two rotor fans 35' (Fig. 8). The rotor-cooling hydrogen is returned from the radial rotor vents 46 through the part of the air-gap which is just inside of the inner surface of the cylindrical insulating member 51, thus returning from the center of the rotor to each of the ends of the rotor, as shown in Fig. 8. At each end of the machine, the rotor-cooling hydrogen is led by a suitable baille 56 to the end space 60 which is axially beyond the annular parti tion 53 which marks that end of the outer chamber 54. Suitable coolers or heat exchangers 61 and 62 are provided in these end spaces 60 at the respective ends of the machine, these coolers being illustrated as extending vertically. The bathing means 56 are arranged so that the rotor-cooling hydrogen ows across the vertical cooler 61 or 62 and then returns to the intake side of the rotor fan 35 at that end of the machine.

The outer chamber 54 in Figs. 7 to 9 may be lled with either hydrogen or some other gas, which is necessarily heavier than hydrogen because hydrogen is the lightest gas, or it may be tlled with an insulating liquid coolant. Since the coolant in the outer chamber 54. is hermetically sealed within itself, it need not be at the same pressure as the hydrogen which fills the inner chamber 55. However, there is an advantage, from one standpoint, in having the fluid coolant of the outer chamber 54 at somewhere near enough to the same pressure as the coolant in the inner chamber 55, so that thev cylindrical insulating member 51 does not have too great mechanical strains placed thereon in withstanding the pressure dif f erences between the inner and outer surfaces oi this cylindrical member, thus making it possible to use a thinner insulatingV member 51, which takes up less space in the air-gap of the machine. If the inner chamber 55 is filled with hydrogen4 at a pressure of about titty pounds per square inch, for example, the pressure which is maintained on the Huid filling inA the outer chamberk 54 might well be atleast 4l) pounds per square inch over the surroundingatmosphere, thus avoiding excessive pressure differences on the partitions 51-53.

Any suitable means may be provided for circulating the coolant in the outer chamber 54 of the construction shown inFigs, 7 to 9. In the form of embodiment chosen for illustration, as shown in Fig. 9, the coolant which is discharged radially out of the central annular vent space 7 in the stator core 6 is collectedV in the annular space between the stator core 6 and the frame housing 3 and then discharged'through an outlet pipe 65 which may conven-` which the coolant is delivered to inlet pipes 69 going to lthe respective ends of the outer chamber 54.

The pump 67 is symbolic of any pressure-producing device which will be evident to engineers, and its details are no part of my present application, just as the fan blades 35 in Fig. l are merely intended to be symbolic of any device directly attached to shaft 4 and capable of producing a gas velocity through the cooling duct system.

As has been stated above, the single-stage fans with fan-blades at the rotor periphery, which were previous practice, could produce a pressure-head at the duct terminals of not over 3500 feet for generators operating at the usual 3600 R. P. M. speed. This figure can be transformed to a pressure A, in pounds per square inch for example, by the formula A=P H 12Xp, where P 'is the gas pressure in atmospheres, H the head just mentioned and p the weight in pounds of l cubic inch of the gas at atmospheric pressure.

The velocity VD of the gas through a duct obeys a formula rn) D 2g 2g where f is a friction favor for the'duct, L the duct length in inches, g the acceleration constant for gravity, and C a constant representing dynamichead-loss; all of the quantities f, L, g and D and C being substantially constants within the limits of conditions in which my invention will find practical use.

As previously stated, the cooling-effect of a given gas is, under the conditions likely to exist in generator coolingducts under my invention, a function of the product PVD; to a fairly close approximation the heat dissipated in unit time is proportional to (PVD)0.8. However, this is true only when the gas operates under conditions of turbulent fiow, i. e., conditions for which the dimension loss quantity is equal to at least 3000; p. being the viscosity of the gas, and the other quantities as dened above, all of course in inch-secondpound units of measurement. For values of not far below 3000 turbulent flow disappears and the heatn dissipating power of the cooling-gas is likely to drop olf rapidly.

As has been previously stated, the pressure head at the duct terminals is limited by design conditions to a maximum of about 3500 feet where a single set of fan blades mounted at the periphery of the rotor is used to produce that pressure head. However, greater pressure heads, and consequently greater cooling in the ducts, will result if multi-stage fans are substituted for the single-stage fans which are subject to this limitation. In this way, pressure heads may be attained which are at least proportional to the number of fan-stages. Fig. of the drawings shows schematically the form which such multi-stage blades may take. The blades 71 and 72 are, as shown, mounted near the periphery of the rotor while the blades 73 and 74 are mounted upon the stator.

As an alternative to the use of multi-stage fans driven by the rotor, each stage of which is likely to be limited to definite pressure heads by the formula given above for single-stage fans, I may impart velocity to the cooling gas through the ducts by interposing a pump or blower of any known type which is found suitable in the circulating system of the gas. For example, this blower may be interposed in the gas-circulating system by collecting the gas flowing from the annular channel 7 in an off-take duct leading to such a pump or blower mounted on the framework of the stator in Fig. 1 between the coolers 31 and 32. The outlet from this blower will then be attached to the inlet orifices of the coolers themselves so that the gas from the pump will be driven through the coolers and thence follow the remainder of the circulating-system. An alternative would be to arrange `the olf-take duct from duct 7,'the pump and the gas-cooler as are the ducts 65, the pump 67 and the cooler 68 in Fig. 9.

While I have described hydrogen as the specific gas to be employed in my cooling system, and this gas seems to have many advantages over others such as helium or sulphur hexauoride, to give two examples, the use of other gases than hydrogen is within the purview of my invention.

My invention thus makes it possible to greatly increase the cooling rate of both the rotor and the stator of a turbine generator or similar dynamoelectric machines so that a corresponding increase can be obtained in the rating of the machine. This increased rating of the machine is important in these days of rising costs of materials and labor. The increased rating which I obtain is secured at little or no extra cost because it involves only the substitution of channeled insulation formed around the conductors or conductors having cooling ducts built within the conductors themselves in place of using conductors having a solid wall of insulation surrounding them, and the use of cores having conductor-receiving slots which are large enough to provides space for the ducts and the yinsulation as well as the conductors and the use of a suitable recirculating system for the high-heat-transport hydrogen or other cooling fluid.

Certain broad features of the stator-winding cooling, using preformed overlapping barriers to form axial ventilating ducts lying against the primary winding conductors in the stator slots, in combination with circulated highpressure hydrogen or other coolant having a high insulation strength, as described herein, constitute the subject matter of claims in an application of G. L. Moses, Serial No. 110,010, led August 2, 1949.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 248,853 filed September 28, 1951 for Turbine Generator Ventilation.

While I have described my invention in several illustrative forms of embodiments, it is to be understood that these explanations were intended only to be illustrative and that my invention is not limited to the illustrated structural arrangements, or the like. I desire, therefore, that the appended claims shall be accorded the broadest construction consistent with their language.

I claim as my invention:

l. A dynamoelectric machine having stator and rotor members, and a substantially gas-tight casing within which said rotor member rotates, and having a hydrogen filling, said stator member comprising a stator core having conductor-receiving stator slots therein, a statorwinding having stator winding-portions disposed in said conductorreceiving stator slots, a stator winding-insulation also dis posed in each conductorreceiving stator slot, a stator-slot duct-system having no substantial amount or insulation between the Winding-conductor and the duct-system within each conductor-receiving stator slot, a means for providing a stator-cooling recirculating path including said statorslot ductsystem and containing a stator-Winding cooling` fluid at least a portion ot" which is liquid flowing in suiiicient quantities to carry off the conductor-heat, and a heat-exchanging means included in said stator-cooling recirculating path for cooling said recirculated stator` winding cooling-fluid; said cooling-fluid being separated from said hydrogen by gas-tight walls.

2. A dynamoelectric machine having stator and rotor members, and an enclosing housing, said stator member and said rotor members each including a core having axially extending conductor-receiving slots therein, a winding having winding-portions disposed in said conductors-receiving slots, slot-insulation also disposed in ,each conductor-receiving slot, each conductor-receiving slot being sufficiently larger than the space-requirementsl aree-394.

' 1 l of the winding-portion or portions and the sint-.insulation disposed therein so as to provide a slot duct-system including an axially extending cooling-duct or ducts in such manner that at least a part of each slot duct-system is bounded by a portion or portions of the winding-portions disposed in that slot, a coolant of substantially pnrc hydrogen within said housing, a liquid coolant in the coolingducts of said stator member, means for providing separate recirculating paths for the coolants in such manner that. said coolants ilow axially within their respective cooling-ducts in the conductor-receiving slots of the respective cores, and heat-exchanging means included in each recirculating path for cooling the coolant therein.

3. A dynamoelectric machine having stator and rotor members, and a substantially gas-tight casing Within which said rotor member rotates, and having a hydrogen iilling, said rotor member having a peripheral speed of at least 28,000 feet per minute; said stator member comprising a stator core having conductor-receiving stator slots therein, a stator winding having stator winding-portions disposed in said conductor-receiving stator slots, said stator winding having a rating of at least 10,000 volts, a stator Winding-insulation of a similar voltage-rating also disposed in each conductor-receiving stator slot, a statorslot duct-system having no substantial amount `of yinsulation between the Winding-conductor and the duct-system within each conductor-receiving stator slot, a means for providing a stator-cooling recirculating path including said stator-slot duct-system and containing a stator-winding cooling-fluid at least a portion of which is liquid flowing in suicient quantities to carry olf the conductorheat, and a heat-exchanging means included in said statorcooling recirculating path for cooling said recirculated stator-winding cooling-huid; said cooling-fluid being separated from said hydrogen bygas-tight walls.

4. The arrangement specified in claim 3 in which said rotor member comprising a rotor core having conductorreceiving rotor slots therein, a rotor Winding having rotor winding-portions disposed in said conductor-receiving rotor slots, a rotor-slot duct-system for cooling the rotor winding-portions which are disposed in the several conductor-receiving rotor slots, a means for providing a rotorcooling recirculating path including said rotor-slot ductsystem for causing the hydrogen which is contained in said casing to flow through said ducts -in substantially greater weight per second than would result if hydrogen at atmospheric pressure were subjected to a pressure gradient 0.l2 pounds per square inch between the ends of the duct.

5. The arrangement specified in claim 3 in which said rotor member comprising a rotor core having conductorreceiving rotor slots therein, a rotor winding having rotor winding-portions disposed in said conductor-receiving rotor slots, a rotor-slot duct-system for cooling the rotor winding-portions which are disposed in the several conductor-receiving rotor slots, a means for providing a rotor-cooling recirculating path including said rotor-slot duct-system for causing the hydrogen which is contained in said casing at a pressure substantially above one atmosphere to flow through said rotor-slot duct system.

6. A dynamoelectric machine hav-ing stator and rotor members, and an enclosing housing, said stator memberl and said rotor members each including a core having axially extending conductor-receiving slots therein, a winding having winding-portions disposed in said conductorreceiving slots, slot-insulation also disposed in each conductor-receiving slot, each conductor-receiving slot being suiiiciently larger than the space-requirements of the winding-portion or portions and the slot-insulation disposed therein so as to provide a slot duetsystem including an axially extending cooling-duct or ducts in. such manner that at least a part of each slot duct-system is bounded by a portion or portions of the winding-portions disposed in that slot, a coolant of substantially pure hydrogen within said housing at a pressure substantially above the surrounding atmosphere, a liquid coolant in the cooling-ducts of said stator member, means for providing separate recirculating paths for the coolants in such manner that said coolants flow axially within their respective vcooling-ducts in the conducto-rreceiving slots of the respective cores, and heat-exchanging means included in each recirculating path tor cooling the coolant therein.

7, A dynamoelectric machine having stator and rotor members, and a substantially gas-tight casing Within which said rotor member rotates, and having a hydrogen filling, said rotor member having a peripheral speed of at least 28,000 feet per minute; said stator member comprising a stator core having conductor-receiving stator slots therein, a stator winding having stator-winding portions disposed in said conductor-receiving stator slots, said stator winding having a rating of at least 10,000 volts, a stator winding-insulation of a similar voltage-rating also disposed in each conductor-receiving stator slot, a statorslot duct-system having no substantial amount of insulation between the winding-conductor and the duct-system within each conductor-receiving stator slot, a means for providing a stator-cooling recirculating path including said stator-slot duct-system and containing a statorwinding cooling-fluid flowing in sutiicient quantities to carry oiT the conductor-heat, and a heat-exchanging means included in said stator-cooling recirculating path for cooling said recirculated stator-winding cooling-Huid; and said rotor member comprising a rotor core having conductor-receiving rotor slots therein, a rotor winding having rotor winding-portions disposed in said conductorreceiving rotor slots, a rotor-slot duct-system for cooling the rotor winding-portions which are disposed in several conductor-receiving rotor slots, a means for providing a rotor-cooling recirculating path including said rotor-slot duct-system and multistage fan blades carried by said rotor for causing the hydrogen which is contained in said casing to ow in sufficient quantities to carry oft the conductor-heat, and a heat-exchanging means included in said rotor-cooling recirculating path for cooling said recirculated hydrogen.

8. A dynamo-electric machine having a stationary member comprising a frame-member, a stator-core supported within said frame-member, said stator-core having axially extending conductor-receiving slots therein, a winding having a rating of at least 10,000 volts and having winding-portions disposed in said conductor-receiving slots, slot-insulation also disposed in each conductorreceiving slot, each conductor-receiving slot being Suthciently larger than the space-insulation disposed therein so as to provide a slot duct-system including an axially extending cooling-duct or ducts in such manner that at least Va part of each slot duct-system is bounded by a portion or portions of the winding-portions disposed in that slot with no substantial amount of insulation between the winding-conductor and the duct-system, a stiff cylindrical insulatingmember extending through the airgapbore of said stator-core and extending axially beyond said stator-core at each end, means for making a gastight connectionbetween each end of said cylindrical insulating member and the frame-member so as to provide agas-tight'chamber outside of said cylindrical insulating member, a filling of a gas having heat-scavenging properties substantially equivalent to hydrogen, in said chamber, at a pressure of at least 50pouuds per square inch over Vthe surrounding atmosphere, means for providing a recirculating path forsaid gaseous tlling owingaxially within said cooling-ducts, and heat-exchanging means included in said recirculating path for cooling said gaseous filling.

9. A dynamo-.electric machine having a stator and rotor members, and an enclosing housing, said stator member and said rotor member each including a core having axially extending.conductor-receiving slots therein, a winding having a rating of at least 10,000 volts and having winding-portions disposed in said conductorreceiving slots, slot-insulation also disposed in each conductor-receiving slot, each conductor-receiving slot being suficiently larger than the space-requirements of the winding-portion or portions and the slot-insulation disposed therein so as to provide a slot duct-system including an axially extending cooling-duct or ducts in such manner that at least a part of each slot duct-system is bounded by a portion or portions of the winding-portions disposed in that slot with no substantial amount of insulation between the winding-conductor and the ductsystem, a stiff cylindrical insulating member extending through the airgap-bore of said stator-core and extending axially beyond said stator-core at each end, means for making a fluid-tight connection between each end of said cylindrical insulating member and the enclosing housing` whereby the space within said enclosing housing is divided into an inner chamber and an outer chamber, a filling of hydrogen within said inner chamber at a pressure of .at least 50 pounds per square inch over the surrounding atmosphere, a filling of a different fluid electrically insulating material within said outer chamber at a pressure which is sufficiently close to the hydrogenpressure within the inner chamber so that the cylindrical insulating member does not normally have to mechanically withstand any great pressure-difference between its inner and outer surfaces, means for providing separate recirculating paths for the fillings in the respective chambers in such manner that said fillings flow axially within their respective cooling-ducts in the conductor-receiving slots of the respective cores, and heat-exchanging means included in each recirculating path for cooling the filling therein.

l0. A dynamo-electric machine having stator and rotor members, and an enclosing housing, said stator member and said rotor members each including a core having axially extending conductor-receiving slots therein, a winding having a rating of at least 10,000 volts and having winding-portions disposed in said conductor-receiving slots, slot-insulation also disposed in each conductor-receiving slot, each conductor-receiving slot being sufficiently larger than the space-requirements of the winding-portion or portions and the slot-insulation disposed therein so as to provide a slot duct-system including an axially extending cooling-duct or ducts in such manner that at least a part of each slot duct-system is bounded by a portion or portions of the winding-portions disposed in that slot with no substantial amount of insulation between the winding-conductor and the duct-system, a stiff cylindrical insulating member extending through the airgap-bore of said stator-core and extending axially beyond said stator-core at each end, means for making a duid-tight connection between each end of said cylindrical insulating member and the enclosing housing, whereby the space within said enclosing housing is divided into an inner chamber and an outer chamber, a filling of substantially pure hydrogen within said inner chamber at a pressure of at least 50 pounds per square inch over the surrounding atmosphere, a filling of an electrically insulating fluid other than substantially pure hydrogen within said outer chamber, means for providing 14 separate recirculating paths for the fillings in the respective chambers in such manner that said illings fiow axially within their respective cooling-ducts in the conductor-receiving slots of the respective cores, and heatexchanging means included in each recirculating path for cooling the filling therein.

11. The invention as defined in claim 10, characterized by the filling in the outer chamber being sulphur hexafluoride.

12. The invention as defined in claim 10, characterized by the filling in the outer chamber being of a gas containing a mist composed of a chemically inert liquid cornpound which vaporizes at the operating-temperatures prevailing within the cooling-ducts of the stator-core.

13. The invention as defined in claim 10, characterized by the filling in the outer chamber being a gas containing a mist composed of a chemically inert liquid compound of fluorine and carbon, which vaporizes at the operating-temperatures prevailing within the cooling-ducts of the stator-core.

14. The invention as defined in claim 10, characterized by the filling in the outer chamber being a liquid substantially filling said outer chamber.

15. A dynamoelectric machine having stator and rotor members, at least said stator member having a rating of at least 10,000 volts and comprising an annular core having axially extending slots therein; and a wound winding having preformed coils; each half of each of a plurality of said coils having a fiat-sided slot-lying windingportion disposed within a conductor receiving slot, a substantially straight fiat-sided end-portion which is inclined axially and circumferentially at each end of said slotlying portion, and bends at the ends of said substantially straight end-portions; said slot-lying portion, substantially all of both substantially straight end portions, and the intervening bends of each of said halves of coils being of a vented construction having one or more coolingducts running along the length of the winding conductors; means for providing a Huid-tight chamber within which said core and its winding are located; a lling of hydrogen in said chamber; means for providing a recirculating path for a liquid coolant fiowing within said coolingducts; and heat exchanging means included in said recirculating path for cooling said liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,173,717 Hobart Sept. 19, 1939 2,221,567 Baudry Nov. 12, 1940 2,285,960 Fechheimer June 9, 1942 2,497,650 Anderson Feb. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 714,319 France Sept. 1, 1931 OTHER REFERENCES A. I. E. E. transactions for 1950, pages 191 to 194 and 201, published by the Amer. Inst. of Elec. Engineers, 33 West 39th Street, N. Y. C. 

